User blog:JEAN9999/SWFF - Rise of the 901st SS: Paladin Chapter 7: Duel of Titans
Duel of Titans Jaeger and Javier are at last confronting each other. They stare at each other, as if in a dance of death. One fighting because he must, the other because of no other choice. They ready their respective weapons, a straight katana for Javier. A combat staff for Jaeger. Javier opens with a quick slash as Jaeger dodges. Javier goes for another kick as Jaeger blocks and counterattacks, hitting him in the face. Javier tumbles back a few steps and grasps his sword again firmly. Javier tries to find a weak spot, only that Jaeger has none to date. His fighting style impeccable. His speed, unmatched. His defense, nigh-impenetrable. A perfect combat machine. Javier goes again for a strike, Jaeger blocks once more. Trying to counterattack, Jaeger turns to hit the opponent in the back only to be met with a blocking sword. Javier punches him in the face then striking upward, making a small slash on Jaeger's mask. He in turn goes and attacks Javier with his staff in a diagonal motion, Javier dodges and slashes three times Jaeger. Going for the forth directly heading for Jaeger's face, ready for a decapitation, Jaeger blocks with his own mechanical hand. Astonished, Javier is paralyzed from the shock, only to be punched by Jaeger, dropping blood from his nose. Jaeger proceeds to hit twice Javier in the face with his staff. He then grabs Javier by the neck and slams him to a wall. He proceeds to punish Javier from all directions, Javier is struggling to defend when suddenly he kicks Jaeger in the knee, grabs his face and slams him into the same wall. He reciprocates the punishment with a few sword slashes. Jaeger retaliates by pushing him back to the center of the fighting area. Javier, back at the center of the area, drops a flash bang. He jumps into the air and proceeds to barrage Jaeger with quick sword slashes and kicks, Jaeger barely able to hold on to his staff. Finally he sees a opportunity to stop Javier from striking his chest, grabs him by the arm and throws him back around. Jaeger then splits his staff into two smaller ones. Javier goes again to attack, but is quickly counterattacked by Jaeger, hitting his face again. Jaeger takes opportunity to rejoin his staff into one. Javier turns around and spin-kicks his enemy in the gut, slashes upward, jumps and almost lands with his sword on Jaeger. Javier is about to finish him, only for Jaeger to respond at the last second, grabbing Javier mid air and slamming him into the ground. Javier gets up, now weakened from the fight. He is barely able to keep up with the knight. Jaeger goes for the finish but Javier blocks him mid-attack. Javier proceeds to grab Jaeger's staff while kicking him. He throws the staff to the air and cuts it clean in the middle, effectively damaging it beyond repair. Infuriated Jaeger grabs his own crystal blue sword. A fine weapon, perfect for its user. Few places are known to make such perfect weapons that are on Earth, one being in Germany, the other in Japan. Both rebel countries. It is said that he never uses that magnificent sword, nor he needs to in most cases. Those who have indeed seen it, do not live to tell it. Infuriated, he shouts at Javier, "I was trained by the best in the art of killing. My whole existence has been to do so. All my life has been for one goal, and that goal is to save mankind. To cleanse it. Humanity is like a virus and so it needs to be contained. The weak shall be exterminated and only but one, true race shall be left to become advanced. To elevate. To become the master race. Since my beginning that has been my only purpose. No matter how hard and cruel my actions may be, I do it for the sake of my people. And if I am to become a monster for the sake of my people, then so be it! I'll do so gladly. And here you stand, defying me? To stop me from achieving the ultimate goal of humanity, power!? Godhood!? Where were you trained?! In a beggar's town?! A farm?! Not you, not Walker, nor anyone, is to stop me from becoming god! I shall be the justice humanity deserves! In return, I'll give him what he deserves. He will come and together we will but one. Father is waiting, lord Nyarlathotep. The master. He comes!" Jaeger spits some blood from his mouth, having received more than a few blows to the face. He takes out his mask and shows a bloodied face. A black eye, missing teeth. A bloodied nose. Sweat and blood runs through his face as he drops a single tear from his left eye. He grits his teeth and roars "I am the savior!" as the air rushes from the deepest fathoms of his lungs, saying that one line as if uttering is soul and breathing his last breath. His full wrath is unleashed in the battlefield at last. He stands ready for battle. Instead of the two-handed grasp of Javier, he grabs his sword with one raised hand above his head, pointing at his opponent. With the other he blocks any incoming blow. A impressive style. Mastered by few, only the likes of Vincent and Javier are said to parallel his. Very quick and especially deadly. The only weakness of such style it is extremely difficult to maintain given its necessary speed and the necessary defense, something Jaeger lacks. All offensive, but in comparison to his attacks, he defends as well as a glass wall. Javier knows this, after all that is why he ended up alive in his previous encounter with the assassin. "Care to take be again on a sword fight. There is one name for that, suicide!" Javier responds, further angering Jaeger. Now starting to lose control of himself, Jaeger promptly rush attacks Javier. Javier quickly deflects the blow and attacks back with a downward slash. Jaeger attacks again, Javier deflects again his attack. He kicks Jaeger in the torso, downing his to a knee. He jumps in Jaeger and goes for a kill. Jaeger only has time to cover himself with his left, regular arm. The sword goes right through as blood spills all over Jaeger's face. Jaeger screams in deep anguish. Now having lost both arms, he is more enraged. Only his right, mechanical arm is left holding his sword. "You will pay for that, you son of a b..." Jaeger screams before being kicked in the face by Javier. Jaeger gets up and attacks Javier. Javier blocks the attack and deflects it. Turning to strike his back, Jaeger tries to strike Javier's back, only to be blocked by Javier's sword, followed by a kick to the face. Jaeger tumbles down as Javier rushed to the kill. Jaeger slashes as Javier crouches and slashes his knee in one smooth movement. He turns towards his opponent. Weakened, he is struck in the chest by Javier in one final blow. He falls to the ground, spitting blood all over while losing great quantities of the life supporting liquid. Javier approaches him, readying his midnight-black pistol, looking forward to finishing him. Javier grabs his sword from a still living, agonizing Jaeger, he spits out some blood from the mouth. He begs Javier not to kill him unhonorably. Javier, vengeance at hands, pulls the trigger. Finishing Jaeger, once and for all. Iris however is gone. He takes her corpse as the chaos is about to engulf the reunion. Most of the politicians have been executed. Those who haven't are either in a delicate state or being rescued by the military. A hard hit to the UHA, orchestrated by more than one source. War is soon to follow as Javier is directing towards the evacuation zone, ready to be picked up by Marco and his team. Still mourning for her departure and with a impressive headache from the battle to say the least, he continues to move on. Javier doesn't accepts the current events. No matter how cruel, dark his life has been up to the moment, nothing compares to this. "Come on baby girl. Hold on. Everything is going' to be all right." He cries, as he takes his love's lifeless body across a horrifying screen of terror and horrors of the chaotic nature of war. Corpses lie everywhere. Blood is scattered across the rooms. Crying, yelling, sobbing is what is distinguishable between the loud sound of bullets flying. The militia still hold on impressively, more than 400 men were or are involved in the hostage situation and the fight. More than 200 are dead by now. By the exit a few hostages escape with the aid of their heroes clad in Titan and Strike armor. The others are dressed in common military uniform. The Shepard Michael Smith exits hurried among them, yet it is noticeable something has changed. He exits a changed man. The confrontation with the devil himself has changed it forever. His words made a deep impact in his psyche. Feeling abandoned, he refuses to look back. ---- Still with his mouth mask on, Javier flees from the military body with Iris in his arms. He runs for safety into a garage. Some vehicles are parked. A large rover. A troop transport. Some fancy cars, presumably owned by military leaders, between others. "I think we lost them." he whispers. Javier as he no longer believes the army in his steps. Taking a break, he looks at a health kit and a gun. He contemplates both options, neither of them being a easy one. He decides to grab the health pod and applies the injection in the injured area. Nano-machines quickly begin to repair the broken tissue as well as killing the pain with a powerful drug ,which the effects could last for a few hours. Still, even with such a medicine he still weakened and in no perfect condition for combat. Javier screams in pain as he injects the drug into his body, right in the right leg, down in the femur area. A few seconds pass and the pain is gone. He takes a moment to digest the events and begins to cry over his late wife. He solemnly cleans his sword, red from the blood coating. Finished cleaning, he grabs the picture he gave Iris a few days ago, of the three's family photo and looks at it with teary eyes. They appear much younger and much happier. Those were the old times with their daughter Maria, the spark and joy of his life. She was so beautiful in his eyes. She was very young. Pure and innocent. Free from the hardships of the world. Very smart and oddly observant for her age as well. After all, she resembled a lot her dad in many different ways. She used to notice when things when wrong and tied to consulate her parents when they fought. The picture was taken a day when they went to a amusement park back in Florida, USA. He remembers that day as if it was yesterday. A sunny day with few clouds. Cheery attitude was in the air, one could feel the happiness of the people and could go back and feel like a child again. Life was good. At least for a day or two. They only stayed around a week at the hotel. Maria was only around 4 years old. One year before her premature death. They rode a roller-coaster called "The Fist o' Pain" as his wife watched in the ground back there, she being scared of heights. The line to the ride was kilometric, but Maria's smile was worth it. She smiled from cheek to cheek as they screamed from excitement. She said in Spanish, "Let's go again daddy! This time mommy can come!" as her mother replied with her face a big no. They used to communicate in their natal language. Both Iris and Javier were fluent Spanish speakers and so wanted for her to live by her roots. "Sorry, but mommy is scared of heights. She can't come." Javier replies as he rubs her head. "But, I really want mom to come." she says very sad. "Well, all right. But just this once. I don't like big scares." Iris finally complies to Maria's request. Javier kisses Iris, embarrassing a little Maria in a funny manner. So they made the line again. The sun, ardent on them as they waited around 2 hours so they could ride it again. "Finally!" Maria yells excitedly as they sit together. Maria in the center for safety precautions. Javier in the left side and Iris on the right side. "Well. Here we go." Iris says, holding herself from panicking. As they rise and the ride gets faster, Iris starts to scream hysterically, much to the amusement of Javier and little Maria. "Look at mom." Maria says while laughing out loud. Javier laughs a little in the back, while also taking a deep breath from his hard work. "I think I am going to hurl!" Iris shouts, barely audible due to the high speed they were traveling. She finally gives in and vomits to the side. A young man in the ground is the unlucky receiver of the gift. Maria and Javier laugh even harder. Eventually, after a few hours around nine, Iris is still the laughing stock of the three. But all is in good fun. Maria is sporting a little tiara she got from the gift shop. She is very exited for being a princess at last. It is what she always dreamed of. However it is past bedtime for Maria and Iris says its time to sleep. "But I don't want to sleep! I want to watch tv with dad!" Maria makes out a bit tantrum as Iris takes her to the bed. "What about a little bedtime story?" Iris tries to calm her down. "Yay!" Maria calls exited. "Is everything ok in here?" Javier asks hurriedly after he heard the screaming. "Yes, honey. Everything is all right. I'm going to read a little story to put her to sleep." "Oh really? What story?" asks Javier looking at Maria. "Mary Poppins! Please, I love it when she falls out of the cloud! Please!" Maria begs with big, rounded eyes. "Well of course. How can I say no to such a beautiful princess." Iris says, taking Maria's tiara and putting it besides the bed in a nearby table. "Let me tell her the story until she falls asleep. Then we can go and watch some television together. Ok?" Iris says to Javier, kissing him kindly. "Ok. I'll be waiting in the room." Javier kisses Maria in the forehead and wishes her a good night. He then goes their own room and turns in the television. He relaxes back and grabs a ice-cold, refreshing root bear as he hears in the background Iris's storytelling. ---- Longing for the fond memories, he begins to have a fit of rage, damning the world. His life has been more than hard, now this! Is as if destiny conspired against him. First his brother, then his daughter. Then it was his father. Even when he hold a big content for leaving Roy behind and not talking to him ever since, he still took care of his dad when he was in his deathbed and treated him with due respect. Life had not been easy on the old man. His father passed a few years ago because to kidney cancer, due to the alcoholism he fell in after Roy's death and Javier being enraged with him for the rest of his life. Poor economic stability, depression and a hateful son, it can be hard for a parent to continue on. They struggled in a hard world. To imagine such poverty still exits. Its just that is well hidden by the government. Imagine what it must have been to look in the garbage for food because that is all that is available. No wonder Javier took his one true gift, the art of killing and turned it into a job. It is all he knows, whether it be a animal, or a person. It is a job and it must be done and damn good he is at it. He is a god-damned killing machine! If it weren't for death, he would have been dead. It is all he knows how to do. No matter how smart, how good a soul can be it needs to survive, and if the means to do so are to kill another human being then so be it. Its not like he has any remorse whatsoever. He grew around death since youth. People died of starvation, disease or worse back in his hometown. People were poor, but they were happy and now that demon of Walker, who have sold his soul for power, took their homes, and their lives. Nothing was left, only death, beggars left to rot, scum of the society. Iris was one that had a tougher life. Her dad died in a shooting leaving her alone. She had to gain money but with no job experience she had to resort to less than degrading jobs as no employer would take a underage, but she was pretty after all. After she made a good amount of money she moved away to San Francisco where she grew the last two years of her teenage. She worked at many part-times, while studying law at the University of California. After becoming a professional she moved to Sacramento and worked for a few years as defense attorney. That is when she became reunited with Javier and they became a married couple. The rest became history. She spent many hardships. Among them raising a child without full support of a husband who worked at around the world where he would conduct political assassinations. After their daughter died at a young age, she became a politician for the Democrat party. Then a senate, then a president. Sadly, her life was cut short by the demon Jaeger. Javier damns Jaeger, such a bastard. Ruined what was left of his life. He damns Dominic, who took out what was his "second family". Vowing revenge on the man that started all, Tom Walker, he knows what he must do to avenge his family and himself. To regain his honor and what little peace of mind he has. With reddened, demon eyes he declares war on Earth, as for war is the means of regaining the lost honor. What was done to him, he shall do worse. Eye for eye, as the code of Hammurabi says. A few minutes pass as he digests the emotional stress and trauma, when suddenly Javier hears some footsteps. He quickly deduces a single armored person. All of the sudden, no more steps are heard, as if the source stopped. He turns around only to find a man in Strike armor with a broken headpiece pointing a TB10-LW at him. "So you are the bastard that did this!" says Miles, recovered fully from his concussion at a rapid rate. He was always a quick healer, always at the top of the human capacity. Graduated with flying colors, number 2 in his class of the 104's graduate class only behind Drake Hun. Young sergeant Miles Jagdtanker, of Asian-Germanic decent, is undefeated in combat. Always trusted with the most precious of targets, working for the Special Operations division of the U.S. Army. Miles looks at the corpse and realizes the victim. He sees the blood on Javier and deduces he was the killer. He prompts to shoot him in execution if it were not for Javier grabbing him and disarming him while the gun shoots upward. Javier kicks him to the ground and soon cuts the riffle in half with his katana. Miles, still in the floor, in retaliation grabs his magnum, only for it to be taken aside by Javier with his grappling gun, disarming him again. Javier unloads the gun and tosses it aside. Javier gestures no at Miles as the sergeant looks in deep anger at the killer of the leader of his country. At a miserable terrorist. USA has been one to bring a war on anything, and anyone who stands in its path, especially terrorists. To kill the president is to invoke its wrath, and Miles will personify its wrath. He is the country's best soldier and so he knows what he must do, or die trying. In the name of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This events could very be the start of a world war. United States is one to be willing to do so once a president is killed. And so the world is about to witness the beginning of a new kind of war. Of a no-holds barred war in which brother will fight against brother, and the father will bury their children. A war where the farmer will lose as much as the mother of the soldier who fell in the battlefield, now to be commemorated with badges of honor. But badges cannot bring back a dead child. Many of those soldier are only but children, barely making eighteen when they have first seen the horror in the world, watch as their best friend standing next to them fall to the ground dead. Passing through the traumas of killing another human being, perhaps a civilian fighting for his ideals. A husband, a son, a brother? What about the family they left behind? Perhaps a widow, or a orphan? It is said, a boy becomes a man once he steps into the battlefield. All thanks to one man who has lost everything and seeks vengeance. They all shall suffer what he suffered. Miles quickly gets up and grabs his combat knife. "Let's see who is the man behind that mask! What sort of devil, hides in there." He points the knife at Javier in a threatening manner. "A good death, its is own reward." Javier replies, readying his sword as usual. Ready for combat, these two know either one of them is dying tonight, but it ain't going to be themselves. "It will be my pleasure to bring yours. The infamous 'Angel of Death' Fancy name. Enough talk, lets finish this." Miles responds as he takes a step forward ready to strike. Javier grabs him by the arm and twists it around as Miles screams in pain, letting the knife fall. He then pushes him aside and grabs the knife, putting it in his pocket. "You seriously believe you can kill me? A soldier? More of a weapon." Javier explains calmly to the confused soldier. "Enough with your non-sense. I will have you arrested and delivered to the pertinent authorities for an appropriate judgement. Nobody gets away with the murder of a president." Miles responds with a conviction coming down from his soul. He utters those words as if it were the last thing he'll do. "This world has no place for your 'American' self-rightgeousness. Always believing to be the hero, but there is no heroes in this world. Those who are die, there is no place in this world for such childish, arrogant nature as nature dictates that those who shed morals aside and pursue their own preservation survive. You might not get, you are just a child. Twenties tops? 'America' has been one to always recruit the young, absent minded, those who are smart lead, not follow." Javier says to Miles who gets angrier by the minute. The soldier's face gets twisted, deformed every time he gets angered as veins full of adrenaline mark his front. His face gets red, full with blood. His eyes start twitching with impatience as his morals get tested. Having been born to a house wife and a veteran he always looked up to the soldiers wearing bright, shining pieces of armor ready to deliver righteous justice. His uncle was active in the army as well as his cousin by the time he was attending high-school. Those who join the forces are seen with keen respect and deeply admired and encouraged by society. Miles remembers the time he decided finally he would follow his father's footsteps, back when he was 15. He was at Gettysburg cemetery in a school field trip for the commemoration of the American Civil War, fought to liberate the slaves from their evil and corrupted masters. For freedom and equality. Next to him stands a old woman and his son, saluting a grave. He deduces quickly it must pertain to a veteran. There is pride in their eyes as the young man kneels to leave a couple of flowers at the tomb. That moment forever changed young Miles life. To be a veteran and to be commemorated as such. A peace-keeper, a warrior. His mind is filled with great pictures and depictions of soldiers and great warriors. Miles remembers the tale of Achilles, a great Greek hero who died for his people in the great Trojan war as written by Homer. For Jagdtanker, it is great anyway for either to return with his shield or on it. He would still be a hero, and so he said to his best friend since childhood, Martin, a young lad of African-American decent. Jewish by religion, the two met since they were at Pre-School. Martin's father os a rabbi, they practice acceptance and union. He utters "You know Martin, I will join the army." He says so with a big, wide smile as he points towards the man and his mother at the father's grave. "Really, well good for you." Martin says, trying to fake a smile. Miles notices something is wrong with Martin and asks "Ain't you happy? You know, me being a peace-keeper? I was happy when you got the internship back at MIT in robotics." Miles says tending his friend. "It's nothing. It's just that I worry. I... I just don't want anything to happen to my best friend." Martin says worried for Miles. "Why would anything happen to me? We ain't at war and the world is a peaceful place. I want to make sure the world stays like so." "Is just that, how can you be a 'peace-keeper' if you carry a weapon. There is no need for such awful things if the world is at peace. My father thought me, the gun is but a tool of destruction and hatred, but the real weapon is the..." "man." Javier explains his point. "The gun isn't the weapon, or the knife. Not even the bomb. It is you. The one holding the trigger, without the tool is useless. It is not the gun who kills, you are the one who does. Soldier are but weapons, told where to point, and shoot!" Miles gets aggravated to a point he forgets his pain and stands up. "You're wrong! You just want to see the world burn with hatred! I pity you." The soldier exclaims. He gets ready for combat, raising his arms in defensive position. He cracks his fingers making a little, barely audible 'pop' sound compared to the gun-fights and the explosions in the background when suddenly the center of the garage collapses, leaving a large pile of debris. The dust clears and Javier grasps his katana. He utters one final sentence, "I don't need your pity, I need you dead! The world will now what it is to burn! Burn as my home did and finally realize they live in hell! You here stand witness to the beginning of war!" War, a word unused for so long, almost everybody forgot the significance of such powerful, dark word. They will all now what it is to suffer, the utopia will fall leading a path for the reality of humanity, to destroy. Even destroy themselves. Such is the message of the 'Church', "and from suffering, the Paladin shall rise!"